1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tray devices and more specifically it relates to a child object support system for use within a vehicle to support a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an item during travel.
When a parent travels with their children, typically the children will be restrained within a car seat specially designed for their smaller size. The car seat is typically positioned in the rear seat for safety concerns and air bags that are common in the front seats of vehicles. Before the parent begins to operate the vehicle, typically they will give the child a cup, bottle and/or toy(s) to keep the child occupied during travel. However, often times the child will drop the cup, bottle and/or toy(s) during travel thereby making them unhappy and prone to cry. Sometimes the parent will attempt to reach back to pick up the lost item during travel that can be extremely dangerous for the parent and the child. If the parent cannot reach the lost item, or does not desire to take the risk of reaching rearwardly, the parent will sometimes continue to travel with the child unhappy and possibly attempting to get out of their car seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tray devices have been in use for years. Typically, the tray will be positioned about the child or attached to the rear portion of the front seat. The trays that attach to the rear portion of the front seat will often have a pivotally attached tray that extends downwardly. The problem with these devices is that often times the items retained within them are out of reach of smaller children whose arms cannot reach them. The devices that attach around the child as an "apron" are undesirable since they limit the child's movements during travel.
Examples of tray and apron devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,605 to Bowen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,659 to Carpentier et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,820 to Yielding; U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,450 to Hagestad et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,649 to Heimstra; U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,208 to Ozmar which are all illustrative of such prior art.
Bowen (U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,605) discloses an auto bib with integral tray portion. Bowen teaches a foldable and reusable bib that has a relatively flat stiff sheet with a fold portion. The problem with Bowen is that the stiff tray portion is uncomfortable for a child to have positioned about them. In addition, items on the tray portion can easily be bumped or rolled off out of reach of the child, thereby requiring the parent to reach back and retrieve the lost item.
Carpentier et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,659) discloses a seat back mounted tray holder. Carpenteir et al teaches a folding tray holder that is removably attachable to a rear portion of a seat by a pair of opposing hook members. The problem with Carpentier et al is that the position of the items on the tray is completely dependent upon the position of the seat thereby still requiring the parent to reach back to assist the child in retrieving a specific item.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for use within a vehicle to support a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an item during travel. Conventional tray devices can be uncomfortable for a child during travel. Also, conventional tray devices that are attached to a rear portion of a seat are positionally dependent upon the position of the seat they are attached to.
In these respects, the child object support system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of supporting a child's toys, bottles and other items within the child's reach during travel thereby reducing the chance of the child losing an item during travel.